After reading this story, I'm fairly certain the answer is "no."
The six relatives of Cuban dissidents flanked President Bush in the chandeliered Benjamin Franklin hall at the State Department as he delivered a withering attack on Havana.He had brought them there, Bush told the audience, to show ``the faces of those who suffer as a result of the human rights abuses on the island some 90 miles from our shore.''
''These are just a few of the examples of the terror and trauma that is Cuba today,'' Bush said. ``The socialist paradise is a tropical gulag.''
For once I think I actually might agree with the president. The prisons on the island of Cuba are a disgrace, and they should be closed.
More from the event:
Bush promised computers to access the Internet and scholarships for Cuban children and announced the creation of an international fund to assist Cuba. But before any of this can happen, he said, Cuba has to meet several conditions: freedom of speech, association and press, as well as freedom for political parties and multiparty elections.Many foreign governments also favor those changes but argue that more can be accomplished by engaging Cuba than turning up the pressure on the communist system.
Bush said those nations would have to respond for their actions.
''As with all totalitarian systems, Cuba's regime no doubt has other horrors still unknown to the rest of the world. Once revealed, they will shock the conscience of humanity,'' he said. ``And they will shame the regime's defenders and all those democracies that have been silent.''
Will someone please explain to me why we have this one insane policy for Cuba and another entirely reasonable one for China? Cuba doesn't threaten our national security. Why do we continue to act as if it does?
As for engagement vs. isolation, let's put it this way. Which do you think would have a larger impact on Cuba: continued isolation, or a massive influx of American aid and, much more importantly, tourism? Which do you think would accomplish our goals sooner: millions of Americans visiting the island over the coming decades, or none?
Why isn't this obvious to everyone else?
Subscribe to this blog's feed
